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Saturday, May 7, 2016

15 Essential Tips for Buyers and Sellers

Buying or selling property means staying on top
of a lot of details. One way to make the process easier on you is to look for
trustworthy sources. Finding up to date news on the Malaysia property market with
PropertyGuru Malaysia is easy, for one. Plus, the listing
site also allows sellers to post your properties and buyers to browse through
available homes.

Buyer Tips

·Location is key. Consider central
locations. You want easy and convenient access, after all. Going for properties
along major transportation hubs, near train stations or bus stations, is a good
way to improve your access and make commuting to anywhere less stressful and much
more convenient.

·Listen to the latest trends. While the
market growth is slow, experts seem to think that 2016 is a great year to
invest in properties, with projections that market prices will come surging
right back by 2019 or 2020, The Malay
Mail Online says. By keeping up to date with such
news, you’ve got a solid gauge on whether it’s a good time to invest or not.

·Know why you’re buying it. Be clear on
your reasons for buying it. Do you intend to use it as a temporary or secondary
residence? Or maybe you’d like to lease it out and take advantage of the rental
income it brings? Asione
says it’s an ideal time to scoop up properties and rent them out until the
ringgit stabilizes. Then that’s the right time to sell them. So whatever your
reasons are, make sure you’re clear on the why. It’ll affect a number of your
buying decisions.

·Look beyond visual appeal. A lot of
buyers don’t often look beyond the staging and that can be a missed
opportunity. Look for the structural bones of the property instead of the bad
sofa set or those bland-looking walls. Remember that you can change the
interior of the home easily enough. But knocking down a wall to expand a space
or putting one up to build a room requires more planning, trouble and expense.

·Wait it out. If you’ve been eyeing a
particular property, but think the price isn’t reasonable yet, then don’t rush
in and swoop it up. Take your time.

·Don’t be too picky. Some homebuyers
believe they’ll just step into a room and magic will happen. That’s rarely the
case when you’re buying. Often, shopping for a home means you’ve got to settle
for the choices that are well within your price range. Going beyond your budget
for a home is unthinkable and might spell a huge financial disaster for you so when
you’ve got a budget, stick to it.

·Don’t be an emotional buyer. While it’s
nice to have an instant connection to a home, unless you can afford it, you
can’t let your heart rule over your head. Be smart about your buying decision.
Go for something that’s an ideal fit for what you need: the right size, a good
location and the best price you can get, given your price range.

Seller Tips

·Repair and replace. Before you put up
the property in the market, make sure to repair and replace whatever needs to
be repaired or replaced. Rotting floorboards? Leaky pipes? Fix them up as best
as you can. If not fix, then replace. This can cut into your funds though so
the best thing to do is to make sure you never let your property fall into such
disarray in the first place.

·Show it in the best light. Visual appeal
matters a great deal. So set the stage, so to speak. Use whatever furnishings
or props you have handy to make the home as welcoming and inviting as possible.
You want to make them fall in love with the property at first sight. That,
coupled with good structural bones, will help sell your property faster.

·Clear your things. You want to make them
feel at home right from the get-go and that’s hardly possible if the first
thing they see on the door is your grandmother’s cross or last year’s Halloween
decorations. So remove all signs of you and your family from the property. This
can make the buyers uncomfortable, so they might not explore the property as
much. If the property happens to be ideal for their needs, those trappings
could set the deal back a few steps. To ensure nothing gets in the way of a
quick sale, keep the property welcoming but impersonal by taking out all your
personal knick-knacks and possessions and hiding them somewhere buyers won’t
find them.

·Paint the walls. You’d be surprised at
the dramatic change freshly painted walls can do to bring a room back to life.
It doesn’t cost much and it can make the difference between a dreary room and a
sunny one. For some buyers, it could even be enough to seal the deal. So if you
want to give your property the best chance at beating every other home on the
block, then this should be on your to-do list.

·Be realistic about the price. A major
reason homes sell quickly enough is their price tag. Is yours realistic? Or
maybe it’s a bit higher than the average property in your location? Homeowners often believe their properties are
worth more on the market. Want to know if your price is on target? Hire a
realtor to provide you with an accurate market value of your property. That’s
going to help you secure the best price for your home. However, you’ll have to
note that the longer your property stays on the market, the harder it is for
you to sell. That’s because other buyers will assume something is wrong with
the home. So best to get the price right from the get-go to attract your target
buyers instead of turning them away.

·Best condition trumps competition. If
your home is in tip-top shape, then it’s likely to sell faster than the other
properties in the same location. Which is why cleaning up the property is a
good idea. It’ll attract buyers better if they see gleaming floors, clean
windows and bright walls instead of stepping through the door and finding
nothing but broken floorboards, a leaky roof and fat spiders ready to fall on
unsuspecting house guests.

·Make it “Move-in” Ready. Most homebuyers
want to expedite the process as much as possible. One way to encourage that is
to get your home in a state where the buyer can immediately move in and start
living there. That means keeping the plumbing system up to code, ensuring the
doors as well as appliances—if there are any—comply with electrical building
codes, among other things.

·Fix your curb. The curb is often one of
the first things your buyers will see so make sure you make the best impression
possible. You can pull this off by trimming the bushes, fixing the fence and
the door.

Buying or selling a home
can be challenging. You’ve got a lot of details to see to. You might even
encounter horrible buyers or sellers along the way. But armed with a whole lot
of research, you can make this experience a great one for you and your buyer or
seller.